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Will Jarvis Deal Lay Groundwork For Ohtani-Type Deferrments? |
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An interesting facet of the eight-year deal signed by Carolina’s Seth Jarvis is that GM Eric Tulsky was able to get Jarvis to defer $15.67 million in compensation until after the eighth year of the deal, similar to how Shohei Ohtani did with his massive deal with the LA Dodgers.
This is allowable under the current CBA and acts to spread out the actual money paid out and decrease the AAV. Using this method, the Canes were able to lock up Jarvis at a more palatable $7.42 million AAV and not the nearly $8 million per season had the deal been structured in the typical manner.
The question is whether this will set a precedent for players coming up for new contracts. Will they be willing to defer to get money down the road and will the NHLPA be on board with this?
Could big market teams who encountered cap issues during the pandemic (NY Rangers, Toronto) use this to lighten the load on new deals for Igor Shesterkin or Mitch Marner? Could Edmonton get Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, and Connor McDavid to defer some cash to squeeze their three big deals in?
We shall see…..